The pacer Sean Abbott has joined the long list of Australian players who got injured and has been ruled out in the ongoing India tour. After featuring in the pink ball warm-up game between India and Australia A, he picked up a mild calf-strain and has been ruled out the first Test of the four-match series, scheduled to begin on December 18.
On Friday, during the first innings of India, Sean Abbott notched the crucial wicket of Mayank Agarwal besides picking the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha and Mohammed Shami to bundle out the visitors for 194 runs.
However, Sean Abbott is not a prominent player in the national set-up and thus, it’s not a massive blow for the Aussies.
Moises Henriques replaces Sean Abbott:
Moises Henriques, who impressed with his performance in the limited-over leg against India, has been swooped into the squad in place of Sean Abbott. He made his Test debut back in 2013 against India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
But in four matches in the format, he has managed only 164 runs and two wickets. Also, the all-rounder didn’t feature in the recently concluded practice matches and is likely to be benched in the opening match considering the existing robust pace attack of Australia.
The left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc has returned to the Test squad after leaving the T20I series midway while Pat Cummins and Jos Hazlewood were already available to play in the series. In the bowling department, the home team also have Nathan Lyon, who has more than decent numbers against India in Test cricket.
Meanwhile, after playing the maiden pink ball in Adelaide, India will take on Australia in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane in the last three Test matches respectively. The marquee Test series will mark the end of the two-month-long India tour of Australia.